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Eye Candy: 1954 Willys Aero Lark

One of the first post-war compacts was roomy, rode nicely and had plenty of get-up-and go. But people were into BIG.

Willys was taken over by Kaiser, who sold their vehicle business to American Motors, who were bought by Chrysler, so David Baker (wearing the hat) has his pick of car shows to go to. (ALFRED HOLDEN / TORONTO STAR)

The low-line Lark was considered stripped at the time but comes off as dressy now that cars aren't so weighed down by chrome encrustations. (ALFRED HOLDEN / TORONTO STAR)

David Baker contemplates the dash. The compact was about as big inside, but not outside, as the Big Three's full-sized cars. (ALFRED HOLDEN / TORONTO STAR)

On the hood, a reminder than looking like a jet was the hot look. There was even a competing compact from Hudson that was called the Jet. (ALFRED HOLDEN / TORONTO STAR)

Be it known that before remote door locks were invented every car had a keyhole on the passenger side of the car too. (ALFRED HOLDEN / TORONTO STAR)

Baker says the Aero's control levers were advertised as aviation-inspired — like you'd find in a cockpit. Where fake wood was inconceivable. (ALFRED HOLDEN / TORONTO STAR)

By the time this '54 was built, Kaiser had taken over Willys. (ALFRED HOLDEN / TORONTO STAR)

Just about every low-trim-line car was called "deluxe," David Baker recalls. (ALFRED HOLDEN / TORONTO STAR)

Short, but wide, is the impression, with doors that weren't a foot thick, providing enough room when everyone rode three abreast. (ALFRED HOLDEN / toronto star)

Consumer Reports gave its first impressions of the new Willys car in the 1952 auto issue. (CONSUMER REPORTS / MARCH 1952)

. . . and followed up with a full report on the Aero . . . (CONSUMER REPORTS / SEPTEMBER 1952)

By David BakerWheels Reader

Fri., Feb. 5, 2016

The car: 1954 Willys Aero Lark

The owner: David Baker, Bobcaygeon

The story: My grandfather bought a ’52, new, the year the new Aero came on the market. I didn’t know that car well until he died, and passed it on to his daughter. I borrowed it from her and really liked it.

Mine came from a chap in London, Ont., and in the 20 years I’ve had it I have never seen another one. All I know about this particular car’s history is that it had a Triple A sticker on the trunk from Omaha, Neb. — so this must be a U.S. vehicle.

From way back in the Twenties the Willys cars were built in Toledo. They turned to Jeeps during the war, and civilian versions afterward, but the Aero is a long way from a Jeep. It was one of the early compacts, quite advanced for the day, and unusual in that it’s a very short car to seat six people.

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Cars from the Fifties tended to wallow — they are sloppy-handling — but the Aero does not lean on the corner, and is a very comfortable car to ride in.

Baker says the Aero's control levers were advertised as aviation-inspired — like you'd find in a cockpit where fake wood was inconceivable. (ALFRED HOLDEN)

The engine is unusual, what they call an F-head, a configuration that makes a difference in power. As a flathead the Willys 6 engine was 75 horsepower, as an F-head, 90. The Aero was a lot lighter than most of the other cars at the time, and it moves out pretty nicely.

When the car was launched there was price war going on between the Big Three that messed things up for all the “Independents.” They could not cost their cars low enough to compete. The Aero, advertised as a thrifty, sensible car, cost about as much as a bigger Chevrolet, and a lot of people didn’t perceive it as enough car for the money.

My Lark is the lowest trim level, with almost nothing whatever in terms of options. I have rubber mats on the floor. There is a radio, AM only, that I believe was added by one of the previous owners. There’s no chrome around the windows, which people don’t notice so much now that chrome is used less.

The low-line Lark was considered stripped at the time but comes off as dressy now that cars aren't so weighed down by chrome encrustations. (ALFRED HOLDEN)

The car will deliver 30 miles per gallon, which was part of the original idea. Helping out is a 3-speed transmission with a fourth gear fastened to the back of it — overdrive. I switch over by getting up to about 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) per hour, and lifting my foot off the gas. An electric solenoid engages the top gear, cutting revs by 30 per cent, reducing noise and giving better fuel economy. If I want to accelerate I put my foot down to the floor, it disengages, around I go and after passing you’re back in overdrive again.

When I got it the finish was chalky, and I had the car repainted, close to the original colour. I have found a local garage where mechanics love to work on it, but have not spent much money. I’ve rebuilt the generator, had the carburetor rebuilt, and the distributor. The odometer was showing just 28,000 miles, but pedal wear suggests the real mileage is higher.

Looking like a jet was hot. There was a competing compact from Hudson that was called the Jet. (ALFRED HOLDEN)

Unfortunately, the Willys Aero came out when people were getting enthused about chrome and bigness. But it’s a sweet, honest-looking car, an historical artifact that tells a lot about what society was like 60 years ago.

Show us your candy: Got a cool custom or vintage car? Send us a picture of you and your family with your beauty, and tell us your story. And we like photos — the more the better — of the interior, trim, wheels, emblems, what you admire. Email wheels@thestar.ca and be sure to use “Eye Candy” in the subject line.

Show us your candy: Got a cool custom or vintage car? Send us a picture of you and your family with your beauty, and tell us your story. And we like photos — the more the better — of the interior, trim, wheels, emblems, what you admire. Email wheels@thestar.ca and be sure to use “Eye Candy” in the subject line.

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